Hmmm... by that definition, I guess my ol' Mazda CAN'T be a beater after
all... The "trick" for starting it is mash the clutch and/or put it in
neutral (to keep it from leaving unexpectedly) then turn the key. No
need to pump the gas (not even once), no need to fiddle with anything -
the "magic" just happens. :) If the battery isn't dead, it generally
takes less than a second of crank before it fires up, even after sitting
overnight (or multiple overnights).
If the battery is dead enough that it won't crank, but isn't
*COMPLETELY* flat, getting it rolling backwards at about 2-3 MPH then
popping the clutch with it in reverse will usually get it to fire up on
the first or second try, with the rarely required third attempt never
yet failing to result in a running engine.
<POUT>
And here I thought I'd finally achieved the pinnacle of success by
owning a "beater"... Just goes to prove that you can't win the rat-race
- They just keep coming up with faster rats! :)

--
Don Bruder - snipped-for-privacy@sonic.net - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I\'m trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn\'t contain a password in the

for me a beater is a car 9truck. mocycle, vehicle) that is in a condition
where yo ujust don't care what happens to it. You know the one.
uses for beaters:
Its snowing, and they've closed all the local highways, so you decide its
time to go "snowplowing" - sliding into the snowdrifts and snowbanks on the
highway to see if you can make it through the other side......
checking to see if those guard rails really do make any difference if you
drift into them.
bumper tag
random "I wonder what would happen if" tests
I think the best was when some guy at a local dock bet me $500 i wouldn't
drive my "dune buggy" (old VW floow and mechanicals I talked out of a local
junk yard I hung out at) off the end of the pier. Got a nice by stander to
hold the cash, cost me $75 to get a local fisherman to winch it back up.
SPent a couple hours blowing out hte motor, and drove it away later that
day....
In my younger days, I've done all of the above.......
Name changes to protect the well.... OK, so not innocent, but certainly
wiser (or at least older and easier to break) now....
wrote:

That sounds like a Ford. I have a '70 Bronco and a 68 F-250 Camper
Special. "Herding" is an apt description. We bought the Bronco new
and it steered like that from the start. My dad bought a 68 Camper
Special new and I recall it (or him :-) also being all over the road.
Ya get sorta used to it after awhile even though you look like yer
sawing a log going down the road :-)
I will have to say that the F-250 is tough as a rock. I've had it so
loaded down with river rock that the axle was smashing the bump stops
and the front wheels touched down only occasionally. It still drove
more or less normally and suffered no damage. I've also had the bed
packed as tightly as possible with compressed gas cylinders. Probably
at least as heavy as the rock. Used that old truck on a welding
supply route for years. It was like using a stone axe to carve a
statue but at least it always worked.
John

Actually that one was an International. I never could hit third gear in the
thing so I'd wind it up about as tight as it would go in second and pop it
over into 4th. You were lucky to keep the thing between the ditches.
Kathy

Heh! whatever it takes. I've gotten out of the woods on my dirt bike
after breaking a chain and using all my masterlinks by cutting the
clutch cable and wiring the chain back together with the high strength
wire.
Two things that go in the emergency kit are duct tape and mechanic's
wire. This is soft iron wire that is strong but easy to bend. I've
made everything from a fanbelt to an alternator bracket to suspension
parts with the stuff. Fashion the wire in the shape you want and use
the duct tape to hold it in place if necessary.
You might also consider carrying an improvised welder in your kit if
you're out in the woods like that. All you need is some gas welding
filler rod, a long set of jumper cables and a carbon rod that you get
from the welding supply place. You use your car battery as the power
source. 12 volts isn't enough to keep a stick welding arc going but
it will run a carbon arc. You use the carbon arc just like an
acetylene torch or TIG and use the filler rod to fill the joint.
That and a few random pieces of metal stock and you can fix almost
anything. In your situation (BTDT), I'd have taken a hunk of angle
and welded a bracket to the control arm to hold the ball in place.
Strong enough to get you out but easy to remove for the permanent fix.
If you carry a second battery, for in case you run the other one down
after flooding or drowning the engine, you can hook the two in series
for welding and use ordinary AC or DC sticks. Lots of the guys I
off-road with do that. They carry the long jumpers and a third jumper
suitable for running from the spare battery to the cranking battery.
John

Idunno about "a roll" worth, but I habitually tote at least a couple
bales' worth of baling wire in the trunk, and have for years. So far,
I've used it to retrieve 7 sets of keys locked in other people's
vehicles, re-attached the heat-shield on the catalytic converter, put
the muffler back on, re-attached the tailpipe to the rubber mounting
doohickey after the rivet that originally held it on fell out, and with
the aid of two feed bags and some careful positioning, jump-started a
log skidder. And who knows what other stuff I've used it for and simply
forgotten about over the years...
(But then, in all fairness, I hardly count as a "kid" anymore...)

--
Don Bruder - snipped-for-privacy@sonic.net - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I\'m trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn\'t contain a password in the

Reminds me of when I broke my gas pedal cable. I just thought for a
moment and hauled out my tackle box and used the string tackle to
allow me to manipulate the swing arm so I could accelerate.
Later at the shop, I paid $15.45 for the cable..Made me almost think
about just getting another string :)

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